Complicated interactions between bio-adsorbents and mycotoxins during mycotoxin adsorption: Current research and future prospects

Background: Mycotoxins have received much attention due to their potential harmful impact on humans. Increasing awareness of environmental protection and food safety prompts the use of eco-friendly and biosafe strategies for mycotoxin elimination in food production. Scope and approach: Mycotoxin adsorption by microorganisms has become increasingly promising due to its environmental friendliness and efficiency. This review is mainly focused on discussing different kinds of microorganisms able to adsorb mycotoxins, exploring the main mechanisms of yeast and lactic acid bacterial bioadsorption actions involving cell wall physical structure, chemical components, and their complicated interactions with mycotoxins. Moreover, industrial applications and future research needs are also proposed. Key findings and conclusions: Yeasts and lactic acid bacteria have the great advantages of their adsorption capability and being food security friendly, and their complicated interactions with mycotoxins indicate that cell wall structural integrity, physical structure and morphology, and chemical components all play important roles in the adsorption process. On this basis, future approaches may rely on combinations of different microorganism to provide complementary advantages in mycotoxin degradation and adsorption.